Why Are There So Many Potholes ?

Have you watched how the roads around you have gradually got worse and wondered why ? or driven to work and almost cried when driven into a pothole.

A pothole is caused when a small gap, crack, crease or dent in the road has water seep into it, and then when it rains or freezes, the water in the hole will freeze and this causes an expanse in the space causing small pieces of the hole underground to become loose. As we drive over these spaces daily the area underneath becomes unstable and collapses in small parts, and if not repaired quickly will mean the hole will get bigger and deeper causing more and more damage and danger on our roads.

Think of the last time you saw a pothole, what did you do ? swerve or steer around it, did you think what could happen ? I doubt it as we react sometimes to quickly and this could lead to an accident.

Think of the damage this does to your vehicle, damage to the wheel tracking, damage to tyres, damage to suspension amongst many other things, but what do you do about it ? we go and get it repaired and think nothing of it, except cry when the bill is presented to us.

Have you heard of Mr Pothole in UK  ? we should follow the example of  Mr Pothole who you will see in the interview on this page. He has started the UK biggest campaign to combat the bad roads, and everyone should get behind him in his quest. Mr Pothole has taken on the councils across the UK to get funding to repair our roads, and he is winning the battle.

In defence to the local councils, they are money strapped, and don’t have hundreds of staff members to constantly tour the roads for damage, however this does not make it right. Drivers can help in advising councils of damage to the roads, and this is discussed below.

Many companies have started mobile phone applications to help record and report dangerous or damaged roads, and this is so easy to do. Stop take a photo, record the road name and report on the website or App, and the company does the reporting to the correct council, which is quicker than councils giving you the run around.

Try this Website and download the free app to report holes, http://streetrepairs.co.uk/ I have used this company and a lot of what has been reported has been repaired, so it does work, also by informing the council of the danger they can do something about it.

Can I claim for damage to my car ?

The simple answer is YES you can.  November 2014 I got a cracked windscreen due to a road that had been resurfaced not being cleaned up properly leaving debris, debris that when a car passed me flicked up and smashed my screen, leading to a bill of £85 of my insurance excess. I put a complaint to the council, filled out the forms and sent photo, they tried to not pay but I did not give up until they agreed to pay after I said I would goto small claims court. If you get damage to your car due to bad roads ie potholes, you should name take a photo of the hole, take a photo of the damage and take the name of the road, and report it, and CLAIM for it.